Storms bring death and chaos to the nation

HIGH winds gusting at almost 100mph mph brought death and havoc across Britain today. At least eight people died and many others were injured in incidents related to the storms which led to flooding an many areas.

HIGH winds gusting at almost 100mph mph brought death and havoc across Britain today.

At least eight people died and many others were injured in incidents related to the storms which led to flooding an many areas.

The managing director of Birmingham Airport, Richard Heard, 54, was killed on his way to his work when a tree branch smashed into his car windscreen on the B4373 near Bridgnorth, Shropshire.

Another man, a passenger in a Ford Fiesta, died in Streatley, West Berkshire, shortly after midday and a lorry driver died when his vehicle left the road and overturned in high winds on the A629 Skipton western bypass in North Yorkshire.

In a separate incident a man died after possibly being struck by a tree in Cheshire, police said. The man was declared dead at Leighton Hospital in Crewe today, but further details were unavailable.

A further three people died across the north west.

All the crew members of a stricken cargo ship had to be airlifted to safety after their vessel was battered by gale force winds in the English Channel.

A major international rescue operation was launched after distress signals were sent from the MS Napoli at 10.30am.The London-based ship, which was stranded about 50 miles off the Lizard, Cornwall, had a hole in its side and a flooded engine room.

Meanwhile the road network, trains, ferries and trains were all thrown into chaos by the gales. The Met Office issued severe weather warnings saying there was a strong chance of flooding in the Midlands and Northern England and drivers in the South West were warned to take éthe utmost careé.

The motorway network was hit as a spate of crashes brought traffic to a standstill. Transport information company Trafficmaster said it estimated 5% of the total UK motorway network was affected today by full or partial closures due to overturned vehicles.

Both the M1 and M18 motorways in South Yorkshire were closed in both directions today as police estimated around 20 lorries were blown over in the county with winds gusting at more than 65mph at the forceés air support unit in Sheffield.

Both main trans-Pennine routes - the A628 Woodhead Pass and the A57 Snake Pass - were also closed after lorries and trees were blown over by high winds.

A police spokeswoman added that one lane of the A1 north was also blocked between junctions 36 and 37, at Sprotbrough, after a wagon was blown over and police closed the A1M northbound between Blyth and the M18 because of overturned vehicles.

The Highways Agency said a number of major bridges on motorways, including the A282 Dartford Crossing and the M48 Severn Bridge were closed,in winds that reached more than 80mph in some places. The agency said drivers of high-sided vehicles across the country were being urged to stay off the roads tonight.

Other drivers who were advised not to venture out were those operating vehicles towing a trailer or caravan. Cyclist and motorcyclists were also urged to stay in.

Sections of motorways across the West Midlands were closed this afternoon due to the strong winds, causing traffic chaos. Junction six to seven of the M42 northbound in Birmingham was closed after a heavy goods vehicle overturned in the wind. Following the accident, the Highways Agency closed junctions six to nine southbound as a safety precaution.

Parts of the M5 near Worcester were also inaccessible due to an overturned lorry, and the A456 at Blakedown was closed due to a leaning tree.

The gales also caused disruptions to trains in the West Midlands with many cancellations and delays. Passengers were urged not to travel if possible.

A spokesman for train company GNER urged people to defer travel until tomorrow if possible.

éDue to numerous weather related incidents on the East Coast Main Line, GNER train services are being severely disrupted this afternoon,é he said.

éPassengers are asked to defer travel until tomorrow if possible, as we cannot guarantee to get them to their final destination by alternative means today.

éGNER tickets dated for travel today will be valid tomorrow.é

A spokeswoman for Virgin Trains said trains travelling from the North to the South were stopping either in Birmingham or Wolverhampton.

She said passengers who were heading to Euston were unable to reach their destination. Passengers would be able to re-use their tickets or get a refund.

The Channel Tunnel high-speed train company Eurostar, which operates between Londonés Waterloo station and Paris and Brussels, said it had to cancel all services édue to extreme weather conditions in northern Franceé.

Flights from airports across the country were affected including Manchester, London's Heathrow, Cardiff and Liverpool John Lennon Airport.

Cross Channel ferry services from Dover were suspended for several hours today but were restarted at 4pm when winds dropped. Several ferry services to the Isle of Wight were cancelled because of the high winds being experienced in the Solent.

More than 30,000 electricity customers across the north east of England, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire were left without power by the winds. Engineers from electricity distributor CE Electric UK are working to restore supplies to homes and businesses after gusts damaged overhead power lines.

A spokesman for Scottish Power said another 30,000 other homes were without electricity in Cheshire and mid and north Wales due to the adverse weather.

éWeéve brought in all our linesmen and they have been put on stand-by until the winds die down and it is safe for them to work,é said the spokesman. éThey will assess the damage once it is safe and find out what the damage is. At the moment we have over 300 faults identified.é He added: éEngineers are also being brought down from Scotland to help. Some areas have already been brought back on but our engineers will work through the night where they can to bring people back on.é

Gusts of 99mph were recorded at Needles Old Battery on the Isle of Wight at 7am. MeteoGroup UK forecasters warned that gusts could hit 80mph on high ground and in coastal areas and up to 70mph across the rest of the UK.

Historic Lordés Cricket Ground was strewn with debris today after strong winds damaged its roof. The fire brigade was called after debris fell from the roof of the groundés Tavern Stand. No one is believed to have been injured in the incident, which took place around 1pm at the ground in St Johnés Wood, north London.